Damage Inc Frequently Asked Questions, NEW USERS READ

DI FAQ

Welcome to Damage Inc.

Thank you for looking at our site, and hopefully, for deciding to join in the fun. DI is a site where people get togetehr to enjoy a different fact of the Warhammer 40,000 universe - that of the Online Roleplaying Game, or ORPG.

This thread has been designed to answer your questions. If you have any more that need answering, we'd be glad to help.


What is Damage Inc?

Damage Inc, or DI, is a community of 40k players and roleplayers who immerse themselves in the 40k universe on a daily basis. We work together to create roleplays, to create stories, to develop characters. These stories can range from beating an Ork to death with your empty bolter through to planning and executing the invasion of entire worlds.

Who's in Charge Here?
Damage Incorporated has three Administrators. These are Commissar Molotov, Paradox 01 and Deus Ex Machina. Molotov is the main administrator - in other words, the one who spends the most time on DI.

Each roleplay has its own GM, or Gamesmaster. They are responsible for what goes on in their forum, and have the ability to delete or edit posts within their forum. For the most part, the Admins allow the GMs to get on with their own business.

Several of the non-roleplay forums have moderators. These forums include Roll Call and Off-topic. The moderators are responsible for keeping order in their forums, and are your first port of call if things are going wrong for you. Should you have a problem, feel free to contact an Admin.


What's your opinion on...
DI is a lot looser than most boards you might visit. We allow cursing (no language filters) and political/religious discussions, but please, do not let it get out of hand. We have players from all over the world, so keep in mind that unless a political/religious discussion is kept civil, feelings may be hurt. As a famous man once said, "My right to wave my fist ends where your nose begins." We will, however, not tolerate blatant theft of GW's intellectual property. Common sense, please.


What is Warhammer 40,000?
Warhammer 40,000 (also known as WH40k or just 40k) is a D6, model-based tabletop wargame set in the 41st millenium, produced by Games Workshop. In the game itself you can pit genetically enhanced super-warriors against space Orks, basic human warriors against swarms of bugs controlled by a hive mind, alien scum with psychic powers against an army of tanks, and so on. 40k has created a universe of its own which has an incredibly rich storyline. The majority of the storyline is focused on the Imperium, the dominion of man and the struggles it faces.

Do I have to have played Warhammer to take part here?
Well, no, not really. You don't need to have ever played 40k. Obviously it'd help, but you could probably pick up what you needed from other players, or from Games Workshop's official site.

So what do I need to take part here?
Well... You need to be able to write well. It's important your posts are coherent so that other players and the GMs can make sense of them. You need to be able to work with others. That includes following what your GM says.

Okay, so explain all this 'roleplay' stuff to me.
A roleplaying game is simply an interaction between different people, who are playing the role of a fictional character. There are many types of Roleplays. Probably the most well-known is the type where there is a set system and rules. An example of this is Dungeons and Dragons.

DI's roleplays are a little different. You post to say what you character is doing and thinking. It is important to note what I said about thinking, as that is what gives the RPG's (Role Playing Game) life. If you are in combat, there aren't many things you can do. Basically, shoot, charge or run. But there are millions of things your character could be thinking. He/She/It could be anything from sad to happy and everywhere in between. Too many roleplayers do not do this, and it makes the roleplays predictable and boring. We're effectively creating a co-operative story.

So, that's basically a definition of a roleplay and what you are expected to do if you are in it. It's by no means all-inclusive, and the only true way to become good is through experience. That's where we come in.

But I know about roleplays! Where are your dice and stats?
Whilst nearly all table-top roleplays require the use of dice, we prefer to do things differently. Damage Inc's roleplays work on a more narrative structure than veteran roleplayers might be used to. Games like White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade series or even the ever-famous D&D series tend to rely on stats, and that's where dice-rolling came in (for example, rolling against your charisma or something).

The thing is, not everybody on the world-wide web has the rules for these games, and if we were to reproduce those rules for everyone to read we'd be breaking IP rules. Plus it would be a bit unwieldy for a new poster ("Hey, thanks for joining. Now read this 210-page book before playing!"). The GMs use, as I said, a much more narrative style. They are, in effect, telling a story. And that's something I encourage. The 41st millenium is a rich and vibrant universe, and there's a whole lot more going on that what you see on the table-top. The key thing is playing a role, interacting with other people. There's very little dice-rolling unless the GM chooses to. Most of the time he simply decides what to write next based on what the players want.

For a (very basic) example:

GM: You're in a room, there's two doors and a window. One of the doors is the one you just came through. The other has a large padlock on it.
Player: I inspect the padlock, trying to see if I can pick the lock.
GM: As you inspect the padlock, you notice that...

The players and GM inter-act to explore their world and further the story. There have been GMs who have used some small measure of dice-rolling. One of our previous GMs used to use the Inquisitor rule-book when determining the results of injuries. It's up to the GM but we firmly encourage narrative role-playing to make things a lot more creative. After all, with rules and stats come people who try to bend or abuse said rules.

How do I join a role play? Do I create my character and wait for it to be chosen?
No. Not normally. DI's GMs will post an advert for a roleplay in the Roll-call forum. This will list the requirements for their characters and give a small piece of information about the roleplay. From there it's up to you to create a character that the GM will approve (or not, as the case may be). By just randomly posting a character the GM will have to shape his roleplay to fit the character, which could compromise the quality of the roleplay.

How to get in on the action:
You may not always be able to jump into a Roleplay right away. There is usually a Roleplay recruiting players at most times, but not always, so be patient. Also, every so often there will be a thread for putting up ideas for what Roleplays we'll do in the future, so be sure to toss around your ideas there. To look for current roleplays, check the Roleplay Announcements Forum and the Roll Call Forum.

We also have the Cadian Bloodbath and The Gaunt and Grot, both places where you can post away without much effort.


Can you really cure nymphomaniacs?/Isn't your name taken from a Metallica song?
Hah. It's possible that you might have seen Damage Inc's unofficial slogan.

The quote was taken from a US Army Armoured Unit. One of our Co-Admins, Paradox 01, is a serving US Army soldier, and he mentioned the quote. It stuck, and became the name for our forum. And no, we can't cure nymphomanics. Though some of our members would, apparently, like to give it a go.

How can I get in contact with you cool people?
It is highly recommended that you download and install MSN messenger. It will help you to communicate with other people in your roleplays. We're a friendly bunch and you will find it very beneficial.

If you have any more questions, we'd be more than happy to help you guys out. Post them here, and we'll try to help answer them.

How does the rank system work here??? and what is the section called "Roleplays in the Abraxis Region" all about... is it background or what?
Signed
a noob thats pretty new to this so if you could get back to me quickly it would help me understand a hell of lot better

cheers

Rank pretty much doesn't matter here. We don't care if you have five posts or five thousand - what matters is how you write, how you contribute to the community and the games. A poster might be GM (and therefore in a position of authority) in one game, but then a normal player in another.

The 'Task Force Harbinger' forum is background about the war in the Abraxis sector. A barebones guide to Abraxis is here.

What are the Archives and how come you need a password to access them???

Bit of nooby question i know

hmm Cadian bloodbath...whats that?

A now deceased older cousin of Do or Die, but nowhere near as good.

What, exactly, is an "SRP"?

"Strategic Role Play".

It was something created by Jen Burdoo, a member of our forum. Basically, instead of controlling one character, you control a character... who is the commander of a number of Imperial Guard units. From companies, to whole Armies. You would be taking command of tanks, infantry, artillery, Ratlings and Ogryns... and all of them in the hundreds.

For more information, head to the "Conflict: Samhain" and read there. You will get a pretty accurate idea of what just an SRP is here.

In danger of cluttering the FAQ thread, I've got to say thanks and head off to read the Conflict, then.

EDIT:

Damn, by all appearances, this is awesome!